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Land Tenure in New Zealand.

Speaking at Kapier the other day, Mr Gannon said " the total area of New Zealand was 65,000,000 acres. Of that there were 9,000,000 absolutely useless, absolutely unfit for human habitation, barren , mountain tops and Jak,es. That reduced the area to 56,000,000 acres. Then, -they had to take from that 12,000,000, so that the total available land for 600,000 people was 44,000,000 acres. Let them see how that land was divided. The land of a country should belong to the people of the country. Let them see whether that was the case with New Zealand', remembering that the people were the State, and that interests of the State were above all other interests. They found that the total value of all the blocks of 5 acres and upwards was £52,575,203. Of that area and value they found that 27 people owned 6,192,049, 223 holders 10,315,246 acres, and 1634 holders 13,228,940 acres. Thit was to say, 1834 persons owned more that half of the land of the colony, which had, a population of 600,000 people,.

Following ifc further, they found 217 people and 13 companies owned 7,431,686 acres, valued afc £15.507,295, and thab the total value of the laifli was £84,208,230 ; 2353 people owned land worth £43,395,000 —a vast quantity of land m the hands of a very few people, but they had one clear fact, out of thafc 600,000 of population there were 517,000 people who did not own a perch.of land."

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